The uncertain world of relapsed neuroblastoma: the quest for treatment options in a complex, fatal childhood disease
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Abstract
Neuroblastoma is a highly heterogenous pediatric malignancy that newly affects 500 children in the United States every year. Neuroblastoma tumors vary greatly in terms of their genetic characteristics, chromosomal aberrations, stage of the disease, ploidy, and risk status. While certain neuroblastoma diagnoses (i.e. low-risk tumors) are usually managed easily and have extremely high five-year survival rates (e.g. > 95%), others require multi-year, multi-modal, excruciating therapies. For high-risk tumors, even after years of intense treatments with grueling side effects, the disease frequently relapses (in up to 50% of high-risk cases). When a child relapses his/her neuroblastoma, the future is largely unknown, as there is no standard of care for relapsed disease.
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2024